Nantou
The mountain heart
Landlocked Nantou County, in Taiwan's mountainous centre, is home to the island's other whisky maker — and its quiet counterpoint to Kavalan's fame. The state-owned Nantou Distillery, run by the Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corporation, began as a winery and turned its stills to malt in 2008. Its Omar single malts — matured in bourbon and sherry wood, and famously finished in casks that once held Taiwanese lychee and plum liqueurs — have gone from local curiosity to serial award-winner.
- Character
- A mountain basin of tea plantations and fruit orchards — the distillery borrows both for its casks.
- Style
- Softer and more floral than the coast: bourbon-cask freshness, sherry depth and unique fruit-liqueur finishes.
- Born
- Nantou City, 2008
- Meaning
- 'Omar' is Gaelic for amber
- Signature
- Tropical orchard fruit with a floral lift
- Distilleries
- 1
- Top houses
Tip · The lychee-cask Omar sounds like a gimmick and isn't — the finish adds perfume, not sweetness. It's the bottle to bring home.
Value pick
Omar Bourbon Cask · ~$70
Pineapple, pear and vanilla — Taiwan's other malt, still under the radar.
Collector pick
Omar Cask Strength Lychee Liqueur Finish · ~$150
The bottling that exists nowhere else on earth — perfumed, potent and very Taiwanese.
Test yourself
Question 1 of 40/4
Production
Omar's most original cask finish previously held: